Before the crazy fun of New York Comic Con, Sony held a private event in midtown Manhattan showing off some of the their prized upcoming titles. One of which was a short but extremely sweet demo of inFAMOUS 2, which allowed yours truly to get GamerNode’s first hands-on time with the game.
The demo kicked off in the city of New Marais, inspired by New Orleans, and immediately threw me into some melee combat with a bunch of demonic monsters. The fights give off a very cinematic feel in inFAMOUS 2, as Cole’s attacks and animations flowed seamlessly as he spun, kicked, and cattle-prodded the monsters from every angle imaginable. I was able to smoothly transition from attacking one enemy to another with no problem at all. In addition to launching enemies into the air and sending them flying backwards with powerful hits, players will be able to finish off downed enemies with a harsh kick/prod to the face or other brutal animations at the touch of a button. To say that melee combat in this game makes you feel like a pure badass is an understatement. But the segment was only the beginning for this demo.
After laying the monsters to waste, the camera swung around to show a limo that I had to catch. The limo obviously wasn’t going to wait around for Cole to beat on whoever was inside, so it took off through New Marais’ French-Quarter-like streets. As I reached the streets, power lines were highlighted a bright white to show that Cole could grind down them to quickly chase after the limo. I flew up and down the streets in hot pursuit, grinding on buildings and drainage pipes in addition to the power lines. Eventually I came across a goon in a second-floor balcony with a rocket launcher aimed right for me. I was quickly instructed to use one of Cole’s powers to take down the thug, which I did hastily, and then continued my pursuit.
When it finally came time to pounce on the limo from atop a city square, the game went into slow motion before entering a cutscene. Cole confronted the limo’s passenger, but was quickly knocked off by an enemy helicopter. After a brief moment of running from the helicopter’s gunfire, the game told me that it was time to fire back with Cole’s devastating cyclone ability. I launched a massive tornado of wind and electricity that quickly took down and destroyed the chopper.
With the helicopter dispatched, the demo allowed me to enjoy the new power for a while by encouraging me to unleash it upon the local populace and city streets. The cyclone picked up and chucked both cars and people alike as if they were rag dolls. It also tore down streets signs and lampposts with the greatest of ease. After a good minute or two of cyclone-filled fun, the game cut out to the logo and my demo session ended.
From what I saw of the game’s visuals via the demo, inFAMOUS 2 will rival, if not surpass, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves as one of the most gorgeous games I’ve experienced. The attention to detail in the streets and surrounding environments was breathtaking. It was really hard for me to keep up with the limo in the chase sequence while trying to take in the beauty of the city around me.
The short session of hands-on time with inFAMOUS 2 showed off quite a lot for the upcoming 2011 title. Seamless combat, amazing new and improved powers, and platforming chase sequences all showed off the great variety that the game is looking to offer its players. Add into that all of the beautiful visuals, and I’m starting to wonder just how long into 2011 I’m going to have to wait to get my hands on the full version.
